Goal: Follow World Health Organziation guidelines and do not issue COVID-19 immunity passes.

After tens of thousands of coronavirus mortalities, Italy is looking to preemptively reopen the country against World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Multiple countries, including Italy, have considered the possibility of “immunity passports.” This would be a physical document that would serve as permission for a person to return to work and daily life under the, perhaps false, assumption that they cannot be reinfected by COVID-19.

WHO is warning against the issuance of these documents stating that there is “currently no evidence” that someone who has recovered from COVID-19 and has antibodies is unable to become reinfected. While the immunity passports are looking to ease lockdown restrictions and help aid the economy, they could very well contribute to a second wave of the deadly virus. A briefing by the WHO says, “At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate.’ People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission.”

Additionally, some speculation has been raised as to the accuracy of antibody tests, which would be heavily relied on in the issuance of immunity passports, as a result of the initial lack of active-virus testing. Sign this petition to urge Italy to not use immunity passports as a way to exit lockdown restrictions.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Prime Minister Conte,

Do not threaten the health and safety of the Italian people by issuing immunity passes to individuals so that they can return to work and public spaces. There is no scientific data that suggests that antibodies of COVID-19 or having already had the virus will prevent an individual from contracting and spreading the virus again. Furthermore, antibody tests that are currently on the market are not completely accurate and could present false positives, leading people to believe they are safe, when in reality they are not.

The Italian government has already taken such extreme measures to protect the Italian people. Do not negate previous safety precautions by setting up your country for a second wave of COVID-19 through the use of immunity passes.